Bears start with a bang

MOSCOW - Moscow High's Chad Robertson and Devin Carscallen accounted for three touchdowns apiece as the Bears triumphed over Grangeville 40-21 Friday night during prep football action at the Kibbie Dome.

The Bears seized control early, with Robertson running back the opening kickoff 85 yards. And on the hosts' opening offensive possession, Carscallen threw a perfectly placed 53-yard post to Collin Niehenke to put Moscow up 13-0 - not even two minutes into the opening period.

And while Grangeville pulled within a possession later in the first quarter, Robertson and Carscallen answered the bell - each tacking on another scoring play before the half to give the Bears a commanding 20-point lead at intermission.

With the Bears facing fourth-and-5 at their own 43, and 2:53 left in the second quarter, the Bears gambled and hit the jackpot when Carscallen legged his way to a first down, with all four of his vertical receivers covered. And four players later, Carscallen again used his legs to hurt Grangeville, diving into the end zone on a 15-yard bootleg that made it 27-7 Moscow with 1:44 left in the second quarter.

"We knew if we got one more score (before) half, that would knock the demeanor out of them," Carscallen said of his team's decision to go for it on fourth down, deep in its own territory, near the end of the first half. "We knew if we went for it on fourth, if we got it, it would be great. And (coach) has a lot of confidence in our offense - I mean, we were rolling all night."

Watching film of his team's loss last year to Grangeville, Moscow coach Phil Helbling noticed that his team flirted with returning several kickoffs for TDs - they were just a few blocks away.

"We talked about goals this morning," Helbling said, noting the first objective his team held was to score on special teams. "And (also) to score on the first play of the game, and we did both of those things

"Overall, I was pleased with our execution," Helbling added. "And I was pleased with the way our guys got out in front tonight."

Grangeville 7 0 0 14-21

Moscow 13 14 7 6-40

Moscow - Chad Robertson 85 kickoff return (kick failed)

Moscow - Collin Niehenke 53 pass from Devin Carscallen (Grant Clary kick)

Grangeville - Jack Lawrence 28 pass from Layton Harris (TJ Wiltse kick)

Moscow - Robertson 3 run (kick good)

Moscow - Carscallen 15 run (kick good)

Moscow - Carscallen 2 run (kick good)

Moscow - Robertson 3 run (kick failed)

Grangeville - Jake Kaschmitter 14 run (kick failed)

Grangeville - Cole Lindsley 70 pass from Harris (Austin Parks pass from Harris)

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Edelman may be contacted at bedelman@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2277.